Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS's share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.82, but opened at $25.36. Pan American Silver shares last traded at $25.60, with a volume of 1,167,636 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAAS. CIBC lifted their target price on Pan American Silver from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Pan American Silver from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Pan American Silver from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Pan American Silver from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.93.

Pan American Silver Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.03 and a 200-day moving average of $20.70.

Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS - Get Free Report) TSE: PAAS last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.04). Pan American Silver had a negative net margin of 5.54% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The company had revenue of $686.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pan American Silver Corp. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pan American Silver Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Pan American Silver's payout ratio is -102.56%.

Institutional Trading of Pan American Silver

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Pan American Silver in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in Pan American Silver by 943.4% in the second quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Perritt Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 76.9% in the first quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pan American Silver by 31.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pan American Silver by 73.3% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 5,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 55.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.